Service FAQs

Do I need a referral?

We do not require a referral. However, if you plan to use extended health benefits to cover all or part of the cost, you may want to check if it is necessary for reimbursement since some insurance companies still require a referral from your medical doctor.

How long are the sessions?

Typically, sessions are 50 minutes unless otherwise scheduled. At times, particularly if there is more than one person attending (e.g., family or couple sessions), the client(s) and therapist may decide to book longer sessions.

How many sessions will it take?

The typical number is usually between 6 and 12. The number of sessions often relates to the severity and complexity of the situation as well as the number of people involved and their level of motivation. An individual can often experience significant relief and change in 3 to 6 sessions whereas a couple or family may need up to 12 or more sessions if they have a large number of issues. This is something that is always discussed in the first session since people often have a limit on their coverage and it is our job to identify goals that are realistic within their time frame. Phase based treatment is also common in that people will come to work on a specific set of issues and then return at a later date (when their coverage starts again) to work on something that was initially less pressing and after their initial gains are solidified.

Does it really work?

We can’t make specific claims that apply to every individual, but, yes seeking counselling and psychological services does work. Take a look at the Canadian Psychological Association’s information on the treatmentof a wide variety of disorders by clicking here.

What if I don’t like my therapist or don’t feel like they are a good fit for me?

It is crucial for your success to feel like you have a good fit. We know this and are familiar with the research supporting the need for a good relationship between client and therapist. People connect differently with different therapists. If you don’t feel like you are connecting well, you are welcome to see someone else in our practice. We won’t take it personally and you won’t have to start from scratch. If you are comfortable with it, we can pass along your information to the next therapist, so you don’t have to lose time starting the process over again.

What are your rates?

In line with the BC Psychological recommendations, our fees are $215 per 50 minute session for our psychologists and $150 per 50 minute session for our clinical counsellors.

Who pays for the services?

Counsellor and psychologist fees are not covered by your provincial Medical Service Plan insurance. Typically people pay out of pocket and/or seek reimbursement through their extended health insurance coverage. In certain circumstances we will provide direct billing to specific organizations including, Crime Victim Assistance, ICBC, RCMP, Veteran’s Affairs, and return to work through the various insurance companies. There are a number of other organizations as well and you are welcome to inquire to find out if yours is one of them. A number of them do not pay the full fee for psychologists so clients will sometimes need to pay the difference.

What do I need to know to use my extended health insurance benefits?

The amount of coverage is determined by the agreement between your employer and insurance provider. Please contact your insurance provider or human resource department to find out the details of your coverage including:

Whether or not you need a referral from a medical doctor?

Who they cover, only psychologists or counsellors as well?

How much coverage do you have and is it a straight dollar amount or is it a percentage up to a certain amount?

Is it a dollar amount per family member per year or a total for all members per year?

What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling of some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost, but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him.

– Victor E. Frankl

Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation.

– Victor E. Frankl

The most beautiful people we have known are those who have know defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

When we love, we strive to be better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.

– Paulo Coelho

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes, on the grass under the trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.

– John Lubbock

I have learned this at least by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

– Henry David Thoreau

We will find that kindness is a way of making less effort. It is the most economic attitude there is, because it saves us much energy that we might otherwise waste in suspicion, worry, resentment, manipulation, or unnecessary defense. It is an attitude that, by eliminating the inessential, brings us back to the simplicity of being.

– Piero Ferrucci

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? … Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do… And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.